The Blurry Line.

No photos allowed in this area

We would have taken photos that day at London Heathrow airport, but TSA (Transportation Security Administration) won't permit passengers to take photos at security points in any city under any circumstances.  And, we comply with that.  So, here is what happened from Zurich, Switzerland International Airport to London Heathrow to Dallas.

As you know, we usually travel light, but overseas living for three months requires us to pack a little more.  On August 5, at the easy-to-manage Zurich airport, we checked our two, roll-on duffel bags at 5 am for the 7am flight on British Airways to London Heathrow, unaware of what awaited us there.  We carried on two backpacks and two day packs.  Our flight from Zurich to London was under two hours, and they served a small breakfast sandwich and coffee, which we later believed to be the sustaineth that helped us forget about our stomachs and instead face the situation at Heathrow.

luggage, bags, souvenirs

Good news: our flight into London was right on time.
Bad news:   we landed at one end of Heathrow and departed from an American Airlines gate located light years away.  We ran.  We went through Express security and a second security before reaching the corridor that led to our gate, and, to our surprise, yet another security checkpoint.   But this checkpoint was different - we saw a teeming mass of people in three blurry lines funneling toward one desk where  two frantic agents were checking EVERY detail of EVERY passport. EVERY person had a bag, a purse, a suitcase on wheels, and a plastic bag of souvenirs!   We thought of the overhead bins.  We thought of the Row 28 overhead bin and hoped for space to store our backpacks.  We were comforted to know our plane was out there and that at least 250-300 people in front of us (and more behind us) also wanted on that shiny new plane.  However, we felt a little anxious when we were pulled from the people constellation and directed to a small security checkpoint to our right. Thirty minutes and 100 people already on the plane later,  we were told that we needed a small sticker on the backs of our passports....Express security had forgotten and we didn't know to ask.  Stickers were stuck and we slowly shuffled into the blurry line, still far from the two lonely agents inspecting EVERY passport.We eventually made our way inside the plane, down the narrow isle to our seats on Row 28  where one tiny space was left in the bin above.  We stuffed one backpack in and another one waaaaaay back on Row 39.   Everyone who had boarded ahead of us had a handle in tow and the occupied bins proved it.

  Lift off!  Settled in and satisfied, we noted that someday we were going to make a final flight.
  Here is how it will happen:

•     No running                                                             
•     No worries
•     No gate agents
•     No stickers 
•     No Express Security

                  No Express Security  I Corinthians 15:52  " You will hear a blast to end all blasts from a                 trumpet, and in the time that you look up and blink your eyes - it's over." ( The Message)  

Passports

•     No passport inspections
•     No overstuffed bins
•     No lines
•     No anxiety
•     No luggage or souvenirs

     No luggage necessary  "Ecclesiastes 5:15  "Naked a man comes from his mother's womb, and as he comes, so he departs.  He takes nothing from his labor that he can carry in his hand."  (NIV)

We are going to be airlifted.  Are you?

Keep looking up!    And, thank you for following our Steppingstones...on every journey!
    J:m and L:nda

Using our Nothing-ness!

      There is an interesting story buried in the middle of the Bible in the book of Jeremiah about the prophet of whom the book is named.  You may recall the story when Jeremiah preached yet another hard lesson and the people in charge didn't like it.  They lowered him into a miry pit - a cistern or dungeon where there was no water. 
     If you ever thought for one moment that you did not have any skills, gifts or talents, this story will shatter that persuasion.  People often compare themselves to sparkling and extraordinary names and fame to conclude, "Well, I'll never be like that!  I was never given a gift or talent that would allow me to accomplish anything or to advance a cause or a purpose." Society is inclined to think that things that sparkle have the most influence.

     Jeremiah, one of the great prophets of the Old Testament, now finds himself imprisoned and forgotten in a dark pit.   But God is always up to something.
A man, using his nothing-ness, actually saves Jeremiah.  The man's name is Ebed-melech.  Had you ever heard of him before? Exactly! He has the "Ministry of the Unnoticed," as Oswald Chambers writes about.  He was an Ethiopian and a eunuch in King Zedekiah's house, and he approaches the king on behalf of Jeremiah.  He pleads for Jeremiah's life, to which the king replies, "...take 30 men with you and raise Jeremiah the prophet out of the cistern pit before he dies." (Jeremiah 38:10)
    Ebed-melech goes to a room under the treasury, a place where sparkling wealth is stored, and gathers "old rags and worn-out garments."  He then throws them down to Jeremiah instructing him to place them under his armpits.  Next, the men throw down a rope, and as instructed, Jeremiah places the rope under his armpits which are protected by the rags.  They pull him up from the pit, saving his life.
    We can not claim that old rags and worn-out garments possess sparkle.   In this story, they lay quietly beneath all that sparkled. They became the true wealth in this story and used at just the right time, they became the answer.

        Ultimately, Jesus is our true Deliverer, but He uses our words and actions to deliver, too.  We may be the only light at the end of a dark tunnel for some who feel imprisoned and forgotten. 
   If we feed on the tendency to underestimate what we have to offer others, just stay at the table of this story.
Our skills, talents, and gifts may not be sparkling, but digging deeper, we can find the "rags and worn-out garments" that can lift someone out of their dark place
Use what you have!


Keep Looking up!  ...and thank you for following our Steppingstones.

J:m and L:nda